Pubdate: Wed, 10 May 2000
Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2000 New Zealand Herald
Contact:  PO Box 32, Auckland, New Zealand
Fax: (09) 373-6421
Website: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Forum: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/forums/
Author: Scott Inglis

MAN BADLY BURNED IN DRUGS EXPLOSION

Layers of skin peeled off a badly burned man when he collapsed in a
shower after his home exploded during an apparent drug-making attempt.

The man whimpered "let me have the water, let me have the water" as at
least seven patches of burned skin fell from his arms, face and head
and into the shower of his horrified neighbour.

Detectives say it appears the man, in his early 30s, was making
cannabis oil when volatile solvents used in the process sparked a
powerful explosion on Monday night that left the place looking like a
bomb site.

He was in a stable condition in Middlemore Hospital last night with
burns to a quarter of his body. Police say it was a miracle no one
died.

The 11.35 blast in the converted industrial workshop in Moselle Ave,
Lincoln, blew apart internal walls, buckled the long-run iron roof,
buckled a roller door and shattered the windows.

The interior was left charred. Outside, furniture, including a wall
unit and book case, and personal belongings were scattered among
shards of glass.

Police say it appears the man dumped a large paper bag of cannabis and
a stained pot over a fence afterwards.

His partner, and a 10-year-old boy sleeping on a mezzanine floor
inside, escaped with minor injuries.

Neighbour John Colman, who lives in a converted workshop in the same
block, yesterday relived the horror, telling how he was about to go to
bed when the building shook.

His neighbour came running to his home screaming, "Can I use your
shower?"

"I didn't realise he was burned until he got closer."

Mr Colman, who runs a car rust repair business in the block, helped
the man under the cold shower water but it failed to stop large strips
of his skin peeling off.

"He was just a crumbling mess, he wasn't standing. His missus was a
mess - she was walking around, pale."

An ambulance took the man to hospital. Police sealed off the area but
have yet to interview or arrest the man. They expect to speak to his
partner today.

Cannabis oil is a concentrated drug derived from cannabis leaf and
popular among young people. Solvents used to help make it are highly
explosive.

Detective Murray Free, of Henderson CIB, said: "I think we're lucky we
haven't got three people dead. It's a great deterrent for people not
to do this."

The man is a diabetic but his brother said yesterday that he did not
use cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Cannabis oil is a class B drug and the maximum penalty for
manufacturing it is 14 years' jail.
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